Method of banding the mane of a horse and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

A method of banding the mane of a horse is described as well as the apparatus for performing the method. The method of banding the mane of the horse is made possible by a staple gun having generally U-shaped staples provided therein which are stapled around individual groups of hairs. The method comprises the steps of separating the horse&#39;s mane into individual mane groups and at least partially encircling each mane group with a selectively removable staple to maintain the mane groups separate from one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method of banding the mane of a horsewhereby a stapler apparatus is used rather than individual rubber bandsor the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Persons showing horses frequently band the manes of the horse so thatthe mane is more aesthetically pleasing. The conventional method ofbanding the mane of the horse is to separate the mane into individualgroups of hairs with a rubber band or bands then being extended aroundeach of those groups close to the neck of the horse. The conventionalmethod of utilizing rubber bands to band the mane of a horse isextremely time-consuming and is a laborious task.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of banding the mane of a horse and apparatus therefor isdisclosed to enable the mane of the horse to be more quickly and easilybanded without the use of the conventional rubber bands. The apparatusfor performing the method comprises a mane banding staple gun having ahandle portion with a body portion extending forwardly from the upperend thereof. A staple magazine is provided in the body portion forcontaining a plurality of staples and for supplying successive staplesto the forward end of the body portion. An actuator assembly is movablymounted in the body portion for discharging a staple from the forwardend of the body portion and for causing the staple to encircle andembrace a portion of the horse's mane to band the same. A triggerassembly is operatively connected to the actuator assembly forselectively operating the same.

The method of banding the mane of a horse comprises the steps of: (1)separating the horse's mane into individual mane groups; and (2) atleast partially encircling each mane group with a selectively removablestaple to maintain each of the mane groups separate from one another.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide animproved method of banding the mane of a horse.

Another object of the invention is to provide a staple gun which is usedin the banding process.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of bandingthe mane of a horse which is much less time-consuming than theconventional rubber band method of banding the mane.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a staple gun forbanding the mane of a horse which is convenient and safe to use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is front perspective view of the staple gun which is utilized inthe method of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the staple gun of this invention with portionsthereof cut away to more fully illustrate the invention;

FIG. 3 is an end view illustrating the unfastened staple positionedadjacent a group of mane hairs;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that the staple has beenclosed around the group of mane hairs;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that a modified form of thestaple is disclosed; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 except that it illustrates a modifiedform of the staple.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The mane banding staple gun (stapler) of this invention is referred togenerally by the reference numeral 10. Gun 10 includes a handle orhandle grip portion 12 having a trigger 14 pivotally connected theretoby means of pin 15 to enable the trigger to be moved between itsinactive forward position (FIG. 1) and the rearward position illustratedin FIG. 2. Gun 10 includes a barrel or body portion 16 which extendsforwardly from the upper end of handle 12 and which has an open forwardend 18 partially closed by a staple retaining plate 20.

As seen in FIG. 2, arm 22 is pivotally connected at its lower end totrigger 14 within handle 12 at 24 and is pivotally connected at itsupper end to plate 26 at 28. Plate 26 is pivotally mounted to the barrelportion 16 in the interior thereof at 30. The upper forward end 32 ofplate 26 engages a roller 33 which is rotatably mounted on the rearwardend of an elongated, longitudinally movable arm or shaft 34 which isbiased rearwardly by means of spring assembly 36. The forward end ofshaft 34 is tapered at 38 for engagement with roller 40 which is mountedon the upper end of a vertically movable actuator 42 which is biasedupwardly by means of spring 44. When shaft 34 is moved forwardly astrigger 14 is depressed, the tapered portion 38 of shaft 34 engagesroller 40, thereby moving actuator 42 downwardly against the resiliencyof spring 42. When trigger 14 is released, spring 44 urges actuator 42upwardly which in turn causes shaft 34 to be moved rearwardly which inturn moves trigger 14 to its forward position. In the form of theinvention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower end 46 of actuator 42 isflat while in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, thelower end 46A of actuator 42 is arcuate, as will be explained in moredetail hereinafter.

A staple magazine 48 is provided in barrel portion 16 for containing aplurality of staples 50 therein in a side-by-side relationship in themanner of most staple guns. A spring assembly 52 is mounted in barrelportion 16 rearwardly of the staples 50 for urging the staples 50towards the forward end 18 of gun 10 in conventional fashion. Themagazine 48 is loaded at 54 in conventional fashion. In the preferredembodiment, staple 50 has a flat upper end 56, leg portions 58 and 60which extend downwardly and outwardly from the ends of upper end 56, andleg portions 62 and 64 which extend downwardly and inwardly from thelower ends of leg portions 58 and 60, respectively. In an alternativeembodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6, the staple 50A seen in FIGS. 5 and 6includes an arcuate upper end 66, and arcuate leg portions 68 and 70extending downwardly from opposite ends thereof. It is preferred thatstaples 50 and 50A either be comprised of a rubber material or becomprised of a metal material embedded in rubber so that injury to thehorse or horse's mane will not occur.

When staple 50 is utilized, the interior wall surfaces 72 and 74 of theforward end of the gun have inwardly and downwardly extending shoulders76 and 78 provided at the lower ends thereof which are adapted toprevent the forwardmost staple 50 in magazine 48 from droppingdownwardly therefrom. When actuator 42 is moved downwardly from theposition of FIG. 3 to the position of FIG. 4, the engagement of thestaple with the shoulders 76 and 78 causes the leg portions 62 and 64 ofstaple 50 to be bent inwardly beneath the group G. When staple 50A isutilized, the shoulders 76 and 78 also cause the lower ends of thestaple to be deflected inwardly beneath the group G, as illustrated inFIG. 6. Retaining plate 20 prevents the forwardmost staple 56 from beingejected from the gun until the staple 56 has been moved downwardly fromthe magazine 48 by the actuator 42.

When the mane of the horse is to be banded, the mane will normally becombed to remove all of the snarls therefrom. A comb is then used toseparate the mane to individual groups of hairs G. The staple gun 10 isthen maneuvered to the position of FIG. 3 so that the forwardmost staple50 or 50A in the staple magazine partially extends around an individualgroup G. Trigger 14 is then depressed, which causes actuator 42 to movedownwardly from the positions of FIGS. 3 and 5 to the positions of FIGS.4 and 6 so that the staple will be clamped around the group G. Theprocess is repeated until the entire mane has been banded.

The method of this invention and the staple gun utilized in performingthe method represent a significant advance in the mane banding art inthat the use of the time-consuming rubber band method of banding thehorse's mane has been eliminated.

Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of itsstated objectives.

I claim:
 1. A mane banding staple gun, comprising: a handle portionhaving an upper end and a lower end; a body portion extending from saidupper end of said handle portion and having a forward end; a staplemagazine in said body portion for containing a plurality of staples andfor supplying successive staples to the forward end of said bodyportion; an actuator assembly in said body portion for discharging astaple from the forward end of said body portion and for causing thestaple to encircle and embrace a portion of a horse's mane to band thesame; and a trigger assembly operatively connected to said actuatorassembly for selectively operating said actuator assembly.